14 Pros and Cons of Working for Coca-Cola

Two decades after the Civil War ended, Dr. John Pemberton created a drink in Atlanta that would eventually take over the world.

For the first year, about two handfuls of glasses were sold each day.

By the end of World War I, the company was sold for $25,000,000.

That’s $162 million today.

Aside from a whole lot of drama up to that point, one thing was clear.

Coca-Cola was a revolution in the beverage department.

Currently, there are endless ways to be employed by this global company.

Let’s find out what it’s like to call Coca-Cola your work home.

Table of Contents

Pros of Working at Coca-Cola
Cons of Working at Coca-Cola
14 Pros and Cons of Working for Coca-Cola – Summary Table
Should You Work for Coca-Cola?

Pros of Working at Coca-Cola

1. Benefits

Of course, drinks and snacks all day are to be expected when working for the largest beverage manufacturer in the world.

However, the perks don’t stop there.

Along with healthcare, Coca-Cola offers bonus benefits such as adoption assistance, education reimbursements, and even financial counseling.

Perhaps one of the coolest perks is that, through a partnership program, there is a pool of un-ending discounts for things such as entertainment, travel, and repair services.

Pretty much anything you might need in life is covered in some way through the benefits package.

2. Training

Thanks to the plethora of positions available at the soda company, there’s a lot of training.

Not only that, but there’s also full-on mentorship available in every department.

Employees can continue going back to training modules whenever they feel the need or if they find interest in a different topic.

At Coca-Cola, education is everything.

If there’s something you want to know or would like feedback on, there’s always someone to facilitate just that.

No one should be misinformed or confused for long. Help is always just around the corner.

3. Diversity

Between Coca-Cola employees and their partners, the company has given jobs to over 700,000 people worldwide.

Not only does that show the gravity of the influence Coke has from a global perspective, but it also shows how diverse the employees are.

From distributors to corporate officials, people come from everywhere and from all backgrounds.

That makes this bottling company one of the most diverse workplaces around.

At every level, employees can learn about other cultures from both coworkers and the general public.

4. Growth Opportunities

Naturally, any company with that much of a presence has room to grow.

Between the locations and abundance of training available, Coca-Cola creates an environment for growth.

This encourages any employee to constantly seek out advancement and new skills.

This also means that no one is limited to a geographic location.

If there’s an open position on the other side of the world, an employee need only apply.

A new life is only an interview away.

This kind of flexibility creates loyalty and the type of place someone spends decades with one employer.

5. Competitive Pay

Overwhelmingly, employees from all departments are satisfied with their pay.

To get that kind of consensus from any company is impressive.

Sure, more money is always nice.

So, in order for so many to be content, the pay is meaningful.

It is a logical move for Coca-Cola, considering how much training they make available.

They want those who come to work for them to be around for a long time.

The longer an employee stays, the fewer new employees will need to be hired.

How do you keep people happy?

A decent wage.

6. Independent Working

One great thing that comes from training and hands-on feedback is confidence.

An employee who is sure of themselves and what they’re doing is one who doesn’t need micromanaging.

At Coca-Cola, management doesn’t hover over you.

Once you’re ready to fly free, trust is given.

This leeway is very much appreciated by the employees.

It’s worked so well that many of the positions can and are trusted to be done remotely.

Having the option makes schedules flexible for other things in life.

Independent work has boosted morale and company culture.

7. Supportive Team

As independent as the workers are, they still come together as a team.

This fact is something a large percentage of workers say they deeply appreciate about Coca-Cola.

Everyone is quite supportive of everyone else.

Management has also been included in this grouping.

The goal of the company is to have all the employees succeed.

The more everyone works together, the better the impact will be all around.

Typically, people feel supported in their positions and when they are trying to move up.

Cons of Working at Coca-Cola

1. Inability to Manage Large Company

One common complaint from employees has to do with how massive the company is.

It’s all fun and games until everything is stretched beyond capacity.

Things have sort of overgrown to the point where one department doesn’t know that it’s doing the same thing as another one.

Confusion often ensues and a lot of tasks are duplicated.

That probably has been part of why there have been routine layoffs.

2. Frequent Restructuring

Thanks to the excessive size of Coca-Cola, those duplicated tasks build over time.

Every other year or so, there’s a massive restructuring of the company as a whole.

As frustrating as it is, the intent is progress.

However, most employees just see the actions of new management as a distraction.

The overlap wouldn’t be happening if the strategy was better laid out.

Restructuring just seems like two steps backward.

Usually, it ends up reverting back, at least to some degree.

3. Layoffs

Of course, within a restructuring, there is almost always going to be redundancy.

Every two years or so, after upper management has a chance to examine the playing field, there’s a round of layoffs.

With as much effort as Coca-Cola puts into its workforce, you would think it would go out of its way to avoid needing to lay anyone off.

As groups are laid off, it brings down the morale of everyone left behind.

4. Long Hours

Another thing layoffs do is increase the workload for those who still have jobs.

There’s already so much work to do.

Reducing the workforce and not providing any type of support or handbook on how to handle it doesn’t help.

Sure, this can be seen as a positive for those who are not salaried and who can use overtime.

For most, though, having to work extended hours to make up for the loss is an unpopular situation.

5. Overly Politically Correct

Something that has been coming up a lot in the last is how woke the company is leaning.

To be fair, not everyone sees this as a con.

Those who do believe it is getting in the way of the work culture and Coca-Cola’s image.

While it’s wise to be inclusive, some employees see the soda producer as taking the sentiment too far.

They are so worried about being politically correct that internal protocol gets missed.

6. Lack of Upgrades

An aspect that is a bit surprising is that digital equipment seems to be a generation behind.

Fortunately, Coca-Cola has started to make some upgrades.

However, it’s been quite slow goings thus far.

This is coming from a company that uses technology almost more than anyone else.

They seem to be on the cutting edge of things like digital media and recycling.

Still, the equipment and processes internally seem to be lagging behind.

Hopefully, these upgrades will be finished sooner than later.

7. A Lot of Travel

Upon hearing this one, the knee-jerk reaction may be to disagree.

After all, who doesn’t love to travel, right?

Sure, travel is often considered a fun perk at the workplace.

However, some Coca-Cola employees feel it’s more than necessary, especially in a world where remote meetings are everywhere.

The too-much-travel complaint isn’t just from managers and executives, either.

Delivery drivers and those on the road don’t get to spend as much time off the road as they’d like.